Cold Comfort
by Kathy Rose
Summary: Trip and Hoshi are waiting to be rescued


  
  
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to someone else, etc., etc., etc. I'm not making any money, I'm just having fun with the characters. Wish I'd thought of them first.  
  
Author's Note: This is my first Trip and Hoshi outing -- I have no idea where it came from. Apparently I have a Tucker/Sato muse now. Thank you, Ozchick, for the great beta as always, and for pushing me to do better.  
  
"Could you please put another log on the fire?"  
  
"If we keep burnin' the wood at this rate, one of us is gonna have to go get more soon."  
  
Hoshi pulled the thermal blanket closer around her. She didn't know how long she had been shivering, but it felt like forever. "I don't care. I might even volunteer to get the next batch, I'm that cold."  
  
"I know you are. I'm just tryin' to conserve our resources."  
  
"I wish you had thought of that before you landed the shuttlepod where you did."  
  
"You're not gonna bring that up again, are ya?"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
They sat for a while in silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the occasional chattering of their teeth.  
  
Hoshi really couldn't blame Trip for their predicament. They had needed a level area where they could land. Snow covered the ground, but it had also covered the ice on which they had unknowingly set down.  
  
"How'd you know we were on a lake?" Trip asked.  
  
"I've heard that sound before," she replied. A long time ago, when she was very young, her family had taken a vacation to Alaska. Their visit had coincided with the spring breakup of ice. That was the only thing that had saved her and Trip. Recognizing the rumblings and screechings when the shuttlepod had suddenly tilted, she had screamed at Trip to get out, hesitating only long enough to grab a survival kit as they scrambled for the door.  
  
Her mind skittered away from thinking about their mad dash across the snow-covered ice, cracks chasing them almost all the way to the bank. The eeriest thing was when the shuttlepod, after a few downward lurches, finally submerged completely. Standing on the shore, they had watched as the water swallowed it with hardly a sound.  
  
Trip snaked a gloved hand out from under his blanket and picked up a branch to stir the fire. A fresh burst of flames shot up, sparks snapping in the updraft. They were already wearing cold weather gear when they landed, but if it wasn't for the fire, Hoshi didn't know how they would survive.  
  
"We ought to find some shelter," Trip said, as if reading her thoughts.  
  
"I don't want to leave the fire untended. It might go out," Hoshi said. "We had a hard enough time getting it started."  
  
"It's probably best to wait until daylight to look around. That should be in a few hours."  
  
They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. They both knew it could be several days before the ship came looking for them. Thinking back to her survival training, she sighed and scooted closer to Trip. Under other circumstances, she would have enjoyed spending time alone with him. Now they had to worry about survival.  
  
"Uh, Trip?" she said as she inched even closer to him.  
  
"Yeah, Hoshi."  
  
"Um. One of the things they taught us about surviving in the cold was..."  
  
Holding open his blanket to allow her to slip under it, he said, "It's about time."  
  
"What do you mean?" she mumbled as she nestled under his arm and he wrapped the blanket around her.  
  
"Sharin' body heat is a good way to keep warm, but I didn't want to bring it up yet," he said with a shy half smile.  
  
"Why not? We're both freezing!"  
  
"I know, but me bein' your superior officer, I didn't want you to take it the wrong way."  
  
"Oh, for pity's sake! We could freeze to death out here and you're worried about propriety?"  
  
"Not really. Have you ever known me to be worried about something like that?"  
  
Hoshi chuckled softly, wiggling a bit as she tried to get as close to him as possible while wearing a heavy parka. "No, you're not like that. So why were you waiting to suggest it?"  
  
"Well, it's just that...you know...I... Oh, hell. I like you, Hoshi, and I didn't want you gettin' the wrong idea."  
  
"Trip, we're both wearing two layers of clothing, not to mention parkas, and we're wrapped up in blankets. How could I possibly get the wrong idea?"  
  
"Oh."  
  
Peering up at his face, she saw his crestfallen expression. "Besides, it was my idea first..." she said softly, and the half smile returned to his face. "...And I like you, too," she added, making his smile grow.  
  
She felt him give her a hug through all the layers of clothing, then heard him grunt. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
"Darn communicator. It's in my hip pocket and it's diggin' into me."  
  
A little more wiggling and adjusting, and they were both as comfortable as they could be, considering the situation.   
  
"Next time," he vowed, "we get stranded on a tropical planet."  
  
The tropics would be nice, Hoshi thought. At least she had stopped shivering, but it was hard to keep her eyes open. The extra warmth provided by his body made her realize how tired she was.  
  
Once again, Trip seemed to know what was going on in her mind. "You take a nap, darlin'. I'll stay awake and keep the fire goin'."  
  
Snuggled up against him, she fell soundly asleep.   
  
A muffled chirping and Trip's cussing woke her some time later. "Wake up, Hoshi! My communicator is signalin' and I can't get to it!"  
  
Hoshi was awake instantly, and saw him fumbling with gloved hands under his parka as he tried to reach into his uniform's hip pocket. Without warning, she shoved him over on his side, ripped off her gloves and delved into the pocket.  
  
"Got it!" she cried in triumph, bobbling the communicator as she pulled it out of his pocket. He sat back up with a scowl and she handed the communicator to him, then hastily pulled her gloves back on.  
  
Trip opened the communicator and they were greeted by the captain's voice. "Enterprise to Shuttlepod One. Come in, Shuttlepod One."  
  
"Tucker here. Boy, are we glad you're back early."  
  
"What's going on down there, Trip?"  
  
"Ah..." He hesitated, looking at Hoshi, who just grinned at him. "We had a slight...mishap...with the shuttlepod. We'd appreciate it if you could come get us. And don't land on that big flat area off to our west."  
  
"Something wrong with the shuttlepod?"  
  
"You could say that, sir." he said, causing Hoshi to snicker. "Tell Malcolm he'll get to find out if the grapplers work under water."  
  
"Shuttlepod Two should be prepped and be there in less than an hour. We're just now assuming orbit." Hoshi and Trip exchanged a relieved glance, but she saw his expression change to apprehension when the captain added, "I'm looking forward to hearing what happened to the shuttlepod this time. Archer out."  
  
On that note, Trip closed the communicator and put it in one of his parka's pockets, and sighed. Looking at Hoshi who was again smiling, he favored her with a mock frown. "Laugh at me while I'm tryin' to explain this mess, will ya?"  
  
She saw the playful gleam in his eye and was already backing away when he swept up some snow and began packing a snowball. 


End file.
